How Madhu Balaji is taking Crazy Mohan’s comedy to intimate Chennai spaces

Inside a dark room at Luz’s MdnD performance space, the laughs are on. As the Tamil theatre group Crazy Creations stage their evergreen comedy play, ‘Marriage Made in Saloon’, the entire first row erupts in laughter at a clever wordplay that its protagonist, ‘Maadhu’ Balaji, has just cracked.

This could be a Sunday evening at any of the leading sabhas in Chennai. Except it is not.

Here, the audience is so close to the performer that — in Balaji’s own witty words — “kai romba neetina, yaara mooka kuthiduven” (If I stretch my hand too much, I’ll poke the nose of the person in the first row”).

With about fifty people watching, seated close to each other and to the performers, late playwright Crazy Mohan’s Tamil comedies are not only finding new audiences but also a home in intimate spaces in the city. Through ‘Chamber of Humour’, Crazy Mohan’s brother and actor, Madhu Balaji, wants to take Tamil theatre to smaller sets of audiences.

‘Maadhu’ Balaji, brother of the late Tamil playwright Crazy Mohan, on stage during a performance of ‘Chamber of Humour’
| Photo Credit:
shivaraj s

“A friend of mine (RK Ramanathan, Carnatic vocalist Ramnad Krishnan’s son) recently spoke about how ‘Chamber of Music’ would happen in the past,” recalls Balaji. “Leading Carnatic vocalists would perform at someone’s house to select audiences. This would be followed by a discussion on the song list and the ragas featured in it. I thought it was a fantastic idea that Tamil theatre could borrow.”

Helping him implement the idea that most of Crazy Mohan-driven plays relied primarily on dialogue and wordplay. “Our productions don’t have elaborate backdrops or lighting. It is like a duet between the artiste and the audience.”

‘Maadhu’ Balaji
| Photo Credit:
shivaraj s

Up close and personal

It helps that the artiste is just a few feet from you, feels Kalyanasundaram K of MdnD, which will be hosting a line-up of plays for the next few months and during the season of Margazhi. “You almost relate to the person speaking on stage. It is the equivalent of staging a play in your hall.”

Apart from relatability, such a setting also allows you to let your guard down. Explains Balaji, “Before the play, we tell audiences to have no inhibitions. Our aim is to see them laugh heartily, which in turn spurs us on to deliver our lines better.”

Slowly, ‘Chamber of Humour’ will be spreading to other areas in Chennai; Balaji is currently scouting for small venues in places like Shenoy Nagar and Ambattur, where the same troupe once staged many of their plays. “We are ready even if a terrace is available!”

‘Maadhu’ Balaji, brother of the late Tamil playwright Crazy Mohan, on stage during a performance of ‘Chamber of Humour’
| Photo Credit:
shivaraj s

Beyond this concept, Balaji is also looking at ways to bring some of Mohan’s scripts to life. “There are two that stand out for me — one called Madhu MLA and another titled Son of Superman. Apart from that, he has also penned many dialogues or scenes that do not belong to a particular play. We wish to stitch them together to form a storyline.”

Helping him in this pursuit to carry the comedian’s legacy forward is popular actor Kamal Haasan. “He (Kamal) is a big supporter and has taken on a mentoring role,” states Balaji. “He tells us that just like there is patronage for his comedy films like Michael Madana Kama Rajan and Avvai Shanmukhi, there will be audiences for the plays too.Upon his advice, we are also roping in several youngsters, even for key roles. That way, we hope to carry Crazy Mohan’s legacy to the next generation.”